Midwood Condo Review- Perfect for 1st Time Buyer & HDB Upgrader?

Today, we’re going to be doing a review on Midwood Condo. This development is one of the more affordable, newly launched condos in Singapore right now but it is not for everyone. I feel it is suitable for HDB upgraders or first-time condo buyers.

📌 Midwood Condo Review – Location

Midwood Residences is in the Hillview area, located behind HillV2 Mall. It is quite near to Hillview MRT station. As you can see from the site plan here, the orientation of all units is north-south facing.

In terms of the unit mix, there are one to four bedrooms units. A childcare centre will be integrated into the development.

There are many reputable schools which are 2 to 4 MRT stations away from Hillview MRT. For example, Methodist Girls’ School, Nanyang Girls’ High School, Hwa Chong Institution and National Junior College.

📌 Midwood Condo Review – Masterplan

Many people wonder if Hillview is a good location to buy and whether there will be any growth potential in the future. We are very pleased to let you know that, yes, there will be many future developments. Surrounding Midwood Residences, there are many empty pieces of land zoned for future residential use.

Midtown Condo falls under the Bukit Batok Planning Area and there are 6 more GLS to be launched here in the future. For those who buy in to this area early, this can be deemed as a first mover advantage.

If you want to take advantage of this first mover advantage now, feel free to contact us and we will gladly take you to the show flat and together, we will get the unit that is best suited to you.

📌 Selling Point #1: Amenities

One of the selling points of Midwood Residences is the convenience and the amenities nearby. Being just beside HillV2 Mall, there are many eateries, a supermarket and even a Starbucks inside.

📌 Selling Point #2: Hillview MRT

The second and strongest selling point is that Midwood Residences is just approximately 5 minutes’ walk to Hillview MRT station. An actual walk from the site by our team proved that the walk takes less than 5 minutes and the distance is about 350 meters.

In Singapore, if you are near any MRT station, your tenants can come from anywhere. I know that many buyers will be thinking, where is Midwood Residences? The location might not be fantastic, but it’s very near Hillview MRT, which is part of the Downtown Line. This dotted line is the blue line. If you take the MRT from Hillview, all the way down to Raffles and Marina Bay Area, you would not have to change train along the way.

📌 Midwood Condo Review – Potential Tenants

For those who are buying for investment, you will likely find that the tenant pool comes from the working professionals from CBD or Downtown. The tenant pool can also come from the 2 international schools nearby. The Canadian International School, German European School Singapore and Dulwich International School.

📌 Midwood Condo Review – Rental Volume and Yield

The number of tenancies that is in the past year must actually show that as well. The 2 nearby condos are the Hillier and Kingsford Hillview Peak. These are the 2 newer condos in the area and then there is Glendale Park which is an older condo. You can see that the rental volume is very healthy.

For Hillier, the total units are at 508 and the rental volume for the past 12 months is at 226 units. That means, they are many people buying for investment and to rent out. That is half of the development! Buyers do not have to worry about not being able to rent out.

This is proof over here. Don’t worry. There are ready tenants for these units. Over here, what we have is the transacted rental from last 12 months. This is for the 1 bedroom and 2 bedrooms for both condos.

📌 Top Buyer’s Concern #1: District 23

Let’s get to buyers’ concern. As we know, there’s no perfect project. There is always pros and cons. So, let’s talk about the cons. The location might be the biggest concern, District 23.

If you ask people about District 9, 10, 11 and 21, they will likely be able to tell you the location of these zones . But where is District 23 exactly? For those who are unaware, District 23 is located in the Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Batok area, which is also where Midwood Residences is located.

📌 Midwood Condo Review – Location

Because of its location, Midwood condo may not seem very attractive initially but this development would probably appeal to HDB upgraders and 1^st time condo buyers because of its affordable quantum and proximity to the MRT

Where is Midwood ideal for HDB upgraders?

The answer is simple because first and foremost, as you can see from the graph over here, from 1985 to 2017, more Singaporeans are moving towards private properties.

The number of Singapore residents living in HDB went from a peak in the year 2000 at 88% to just 78.7% in 2017. That means more people are upgrading to condos or private properties. This is the current trend. So, for people who are looking to actually upgrade to a private property, Midwood Residences is definitely one of the better considerations.

[Midwood Condo Review – Most New Launches Make Money]

Business Times mentioned that 92.5% of new launches make a profit pound and the majority of the buyers sold their units within 4 to 7 years, which is in line with our prediction. Normally, when you sell within the first 10 years, you will have the highest capital appreciation. 92.5% made a profit and 7.5% made a loss. Just to be fair, not all new launches will make a profit, there’s no 100% guarantee.

If the figure was 100% of new launches making a profit, then why are we still staying in HDB. As you can see from the news article, most of the HDB upgraders are helping to boost prices in suburban areas.

[ Midwood Condo Review – Comparing Condo vs HDB]

Why is a mass market condo better than an HDB? You can see over here; these are the two primary differences between HDB and condo. HDB belongs to the government. HDB decides on whether there will be enbloc. For condos, it is a different thing. The land may still belong to the government technically, but enbloc is a decision made by the owners.

I think the key thing is that a private owner can push for enbloc more easily. For HDB, only the government can decide whether there can be enbloc or not.

When the HDB flat reaches the end of its 99-year lease, the value is absolutely zero, no compensation. Zero means zero. For condos, even at the 40 to 50 years mark, owners can always try for enbloc again and again if the owners band together and they say, let’s try for enbloc.

I think, by now, many people would have heard about this, Mr. Lawrence Wong had already mentioned that less than 4% will be eligible for SERS, which is the HDB enbloc. I think this has been ingrained in the people’s mind, that is why more people are moving on to buy properties whenever possible.

[ Midwood Condo Review – Hedge Against Inflation]

You can see from this graph over here, generally speaking, property price appreciation beats inflation, which is very crucial, because inflation is always increasing with each passing year. You definitely need a hedge against inflation. Even during this COVID-19 period, we noticed an increase in prices, especially in property. As you can see over here, the property price index in Singapore is very healthy. From 2009 to 2019, a 7% per annum for the 10 years.

[ Midwood Condo Review – Case Study]

Let’s do a case study. A million-dollar condo with a capital appreciation of 3.5% per annum. After 10 years, what you will get is about $1.41 million. 3.5% per annum is a fair gauge based on past figures. This is a breakdown of the profits in this scenario.

A – what you get after the sale of the property. Then you deduct B and C. B is the amount you paid as down payment when you bought the property. C is the amount you paid in instalments during these 10 years. Then, you will get your profit of $281000. It sounds a bit complicated but just give us a call and we will go through the details with you.

📌 Midwood Condo Review – Unbelievable Prices

These are the prices for Midwood Residences. Very affordable because if you were to try to find a $895k one bedroom plus study, anywhere in Singapore, for new launch condo, I think it is going to be very challenging.

In the market, it is very tough to find 1 bedroom or 2 bedrooms condo and about the $1 million range. To find a 4-bedroom condo below $2 million, for a brand-new launch is even more challenging.

If these prices are attractive to you and if you’re thinking of upgrading for the first time in your life, buying private property for the first time ever, feel free to give me and Dennis a call at 98285808.

We are more than happy and honoured to help you go through the numbers to make sure that you are able to buy a new condo that is suitable for you.

Like this new launch review?

Check out more New Condo Reviews here